http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2013/12/2013-12-06-knom-update-news.mp3
]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/12/06/update-news-december-6th-2013/feed/0Profiles: Svnga Thrifthttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/10/29/profiles-svnga-thrift/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/10/29/profiles-svnga-thrift/#commentsTue, 29 Oct 2013 20:23:54 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=5435Zachariah Hughes traveled to Savoonga to hear how the community is dealing with the economic disaster of this year's record-low walrus harvest.]]>

In August, Alaska’s Gov. Sean Parnell officially declared an economic disaster for the two communities of St. Lawrence Island following the lowest walrus harvest on record. Two months later, there’s been no tangible aid from the governor’s office or state.

Residents of Gambell and Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island depend heavily on the annual walrus harvest. In an average year, nearly 1,000 walruses are harvested, but this year a mere 370 were taken between the two communities. That translates into an enormous loss: not only does it mean less cash coming in from ivory sales, but also spending on expensive, store-bought groceries in place of freezers full of subsistence meat.

In advance of worsening winter weather, residents in Savoonga are doing what they can to cope through thrift. KNOM’s Zachariah Hughes traveled to Savoonga to hear how community members are dealing with the loss of income and resources from this year’s walrus harvest.

Two of our volunteers took an exceptional trip to a rural Alaska community this summer.

In a small plane, Dayneé Rosales and Eva DeLappe journeyed to Gambell, Alaska, a community with many stories to tell. They spent time with elder Nancy Walunga (wuh-LUN-guh), whose life story graced a recent episode of our show Elder Voices. Nancy and her husband Willis also helped us with a radio spot series on Siberian Yup’ik (YOO-pick), one of the Alaska Native languages common to our region.

In her capacity as a “newsie,” Eva captured a more serious story, as well: this year’s devastatingly low harvest of walrus, an animal crucial to the subsistence lifestyle of many of our listeners. The low walrus count constituted an economic disaster for Gambell, and Eva’s story was soon picked up by other radio stations throughout Alaska.

Dayneé and Eva were very fortunate to arrive in Gambell at all; thick fog had prevented planes from landing for weeks. (Thanks to a sponsorship with a regional airline, their airfare was free.)

Thank you for making trips like these possible! They’re so crucial for our mission.